Josh Simmons sheds light on injury woes during final season at Ohio State

Josh Simmons has addressed the season-ending knee injury he suffered in his senior year with the Ohio State Buckeyes. On Oct. 12, the offensive lineman got hurt in Ohio State's 32-31 loss to the Oregon Ducks. Since he was ruled out for the season, the left tackle has been recovering from the injury to prepare for the 2025 NFL draft.

On Saturday, Eleven Warriors shared a video from the NFL Scouting Combine where Simmons discussed his rehab process.

"Rehab is going good. We're making a lot of good progress," Simmons said (0:08 onwards).

Simmons also shared that he is ahead of schedule on his recovery and should be done with rehab soon.

"I think like ahead. Like really ahead of schedule, so I'll probably be cut loose like mid-April to give everybody like a good pro day," Simmons said (0:15 onwards).

The former Ohio State star also discussed his frustrations with his injury. He noted that he had made improvements from the 2023 season that he wanted to showcase last year. However, the NFL draft prospect learned that nothing is guaranteed, and he has to take advantage of every opportunity.

"You do right. You make a big improvement from 23-24, and then something like that happens (knee injury), so you definitely kind of like get a reality of like anything can happen, so just take advantage of everything you got in front of you," the former Ohio State player said (0:30 onwards).

Josh Simmons assures NFL teams that his injury won't affect his future

Josh Simmons was asked what he would say to NFL teams worried about his injury and what he would bring to their roster. The offensive lineman replied that he is making significant progress because of the work ethic he learned from his last two seasons in college football.

"I mean, obviously, I try to show off my work ethic. Obviously, that 23 and 24 is the biggest one, so just apply that to your rehab, and you make a lot of great progress," Simmons said (1:14 onwards).

Josh Simmons revealed that he had already spoken with the New England Patriots during the NFL Scouting Combine but did not discuss the details of the conversation. The Patriots have nine draft picks in the 2025 NFL draft.

He also shared that he has spoken to the Dallas Cowboys and noted that the conversation went well. The former Ohio State star hopes to be among the early selections in the upcoming NFL draft.